Archive for the ‘general’ Category

Yes, smartphone fever has reached Rye – we are pleased to announce our new iphone app.

It's a phone app!

We’ve designed this for guests so that while you’re here, you can have a portable guide to things to do around Rye while you’re on the trot – from gardens, beaches and historic homes and special events, through to handy info like the nearest pharmacist, Doctor’s surgery and ATM machine.

Get a Room

You can also send an e-postcard to friends and family (we love snail mail, but just sometimes buying a card slips the mind…).

Walks Ahoy

But hang on, there’s more – you can even book rooms directly through the app.

Artist Anthony Gormley’s Critical Mass, one of his most famous works, is landing on the roof of beautiful cultural venue the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. You can expect 60 lifesize cast iron bodies looking out on you from above – unsettling stuff!

Photo: Nigel Green

Highly recommended, and on the roof between 8th May to August 2010. The venue, De La Warr Pavillion, is fast becoming one of the most important arts centres in the south of England – check out their programme at http://www.dlwp.com/

This is our kind of writeup. The Guardian have included us as one of the 10 cosiest hotels in the UK to beat the winter chill. We love being thought of as cosy, it means much more us than accolades of being grand. Which we’re not, really.

If you’re coming to The George in Rye in the next few weeks and want to get cosy, we’ve plenty to get you going:

Quick blog post from us to say that if you’re staying with us up to Mid-March and are an art enthusiast, you must check out an exhibition of the Chapman Brothers’ work, being held at Hastings’ Museum Old Town Hall Art Gallery.

Jake and Dinos Chapman, who stirred up the British art scene in the 1990s and who went to school in Hastings, so their work is coming back home. We won’t pretend to be art critics; if you want an intro to their work, here’s an interview on YouTube from ArtPatrol TV:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QeNatsDV4I[/youtube]

This is a great exhibition to have locally, so stop in if you fancy a trip over to hastings. More on the gallery website.

Apples aren’t the the most glamorous of fruits compared to the papaya or lycee. Is this because it’s a boring fruit, or simply because the supermarkets only sell a fraction of the hundreds of varieties that are out there? Thank heavens for Apple Day, which is every year shines a light on this taken-for-granted fruit and celebrates local varieties. In Rye apples took centre stage for during the farmers market this week – from bobbings to apple pie-making competitions and juice tastings. Sadly the great British weather was a bit of a dampener, but the hard-core fans (sorry for the pun!) turned out to support the Pippin and Cox. Check out the pictures.

Lots of people who come to The George in Rye are always surprised that we have so many English Wines on our list. Any cynicism is usually blown away when we persuade them to try a glass or two! it makes perfect sense, really; we’re slap bang in the middle of English Wine-making country, which is concentrated in the chalky soils along Kent and Sussex.

We’re lucky enough to be collaborating with English Vine Tours this summer, an organisation which offers group and bespoke guided visits and tastings to our best vineyards. Think Sideways but with an Anglo twist! Look out soon for the launch of private wine tours for Georgers, or shouls that be Georgians….. in the meantime, we interviewed the fittingly named Georgie Furst, the founder of English Vine Tours, about the revolution taking place in our vineyards. What she doesn’t know about English wines isn’t worth asking.

Georgie: the English Wines guru

Why do you think there’s been a surge of interest in English Wines in the last couple of years?
It’s really been a steady growth over the last 5-7 years really, in which time English Sparkling Wines have won numerous international awards, beating the French at their own game. This in itself has created the impetus for interest, growth and increased production. The weather in the UK has been warming over the last few years which has enabled us to ripen our grapes further which has enabled us to produce better quality wines all round. Additionally there has been a tremendous growth and interest in the production of local foods and wines.

What’s the one English wine would you foist upon the cynic to change their mind and why?
Well that has to be our sparkling wines. The sub-soil structure is similar to Champagne and our sparkling wines are undisputedly amongst the best in the world. Fresh clean fruit, good mousse (fizz), subtle fruit notes on the palate balanced with refreshing acidity and hints of yeast are typical characteristics.
Is there a typical punter who comes on your tours?
We have a varied range of people booking from individuals, corporate groups to couples from London visiting for the weekend. The key common factor is the interest in visiting the vineyards and getting to understand a little bit more about how wine is made, without having to travel abroad. Another key thing to remember is that the tours are experiences so they make a perfect gift for any friend or loved one. The vineyards are set in beautiful countryside so simply make a great day out.

What vineyards are leading the way in this renaissance?
In reality all the vineyards are leading the way. They are all promoting themselves slightly differently as well as trying different things either in the vineyard or in the winery itself, thus giving us a diverse range of products.

Carr Taylor, Breaky Bottom, Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard, Ridgeview Vineyards all in Sussex, Chapel Down in Kent, Camel Valley in Cornwall, are just a few who are making not only some great wines but also making headway in promoting UK wine as a viable alternative at the dinner table and English vineyards as a tourist destination.

What’s the future of English wine – top trends and tips!
The future of English wine is going from good to great and as such it is one of the few home grown industries that is experiencing growth. As our climate slowly warms, the wines that we produce will get better and better. As such it is key for us to ensure that we do not sell out to foreign investors and lose the uniqueness and individuality of what we do. Top tips would be English Pinot Noir in the next 2-3 years, and Rose wines which are growing in quality as well of course the sparkling wines. Buy some local cheese and savour!

If it wasn’t 10am as we write this, we might just do that.

Look out soon for the launch of our partnership on the main George in Rye website. Till then, happy drinking!

We’ve just come out the other side of our first fashion sale. No photos of the event once it started – a frenzy, clothes everywhere! No not really, it was rather civilised and we even had Amanda Holden along to open the sale which was good fun. Bargains to be had an better than an afternoon rummaging around in TK Maxx.

Many visitors to Rye tell us that the highlight of their trip has been stumbling into the shop Glass Etc and coming out a few pounds poorer but much happier. Run by raconteur and glass Expert Andy McConnell, who is one of the Experts on the BBCs Antiques Roadshow, Glass Etc. is a treasure trove of a shop. It specialises in glassware – much of it completely affordable – which sits on the shelves looking beautiful and twinkling, and you can usually guarantee when you go in that:

a. Fleetwood Mac will be playing
b. You will be offered a cup of tea
c. There will always be something anomolous for sale (a few months ago there was a sack of Wet Walnuts from Andy’s house in France)

Inside the treasure-trove of Glass Etc.

It’s truly a wonderful place that takes life light-heartedly, so it came as no surprise to hear that Andy will be starring in Comic Relief this Friday night. Tune in to BBC2 at 6.30pm tonight (friday) for Priceless Antiques Roadshow, where andy will be traversing Rye with tongue firmly in cheek. Expect much mischief and fun…

Rye is known as a writer’s town – it’s the birthplace, living place and death place of all manners of classic authors. Some have slightly dubious links to the town while others are at Blue Plaque Level.

But what do Ryers read? Though we’d love to say we’ve read Henry James’ The Golden Bowl (yep, he lived in Rye for many years and you can visit his house) the answer is, erm, we haven’t got round to it yet. Next year, we promise.

We asked the Martello Bookshop, down the road from The George, to reveal their top-selling titles of the moment. They’re independent booksellers and so free of those 3-for-2 tables that are controlled by the marketers with the budgets to make a book a hit – meaning there’s a little more diversity in the books on offer.

So, what are we all reading in Rye? Local author John Ryan’s Pugwash series are perennial best-sellers for children and the young at heat. Here are a few other hot titles:

‘When Will There Be Good News?’ by Kate Atkinson
the latest literary detective book in a series featuring Jackson Brodie which is recommended by Martello Bookshop staff

‘The Old Country’ by Jack Hargreaves
a best selling nostalgia trip which appeals particularly to those who remember Jack Hargreaves’s television programmes

‘Doctor Syn’ by Russell Thorndike
a story of smuggling on Romney Marsh featuring the sinister Dr Syn, a vicar with a shady past as a pirate and leader of a smuggling gang. Let us know if you bump into him near Rye. He’s probably still wanted.

‘New Moon’ by Stephenie Meyer
sequel to the phenomenal vampire love story ‘Twilight’, a favourite with teenagers (though adults have been known to secretly love the book…) which has been made into a blockbuster film.

‘The Road Home’ by Rose Tremain
a new offering on the subject of economic migration from the author of Restoration.

New Moon, the new vampiric novel from Stephanie Meyer

Want to tell us about books you’re loving at the moment? Drop us a line at hello@thebloginrye.com and we’ll feature them.